All was black about me; a loom of jungle-covered hills and only a narrow strip of white shoreline stood close. I walked up the beach and stood to think, to decide which way I should go, but there was a soft rustling and a sound near me.
"Captain? It is Henry."
He came from the shadows. Several others moved near him, and I kept a hand on a pistol. "It is well, Captain. They are maroons and my people."
"They have taken Adele Legare. Where are they now?"
"Not far." He laughed softly. "They do not know, but they are watched. My people are like the Indians of your country. They are quiet in the forest."
"Are they camped?"
"They move slowly, I think, as if waiting for somebody or for a time. They now are near the Salt Ponds, but I think they go to Galleon Bay. It is a good place for boats to come and not to be seen."
He led the way, and we moved swiftly. There had been a shower earlier, and the leaves dripped, yet I think it helped to obscure the sounds of our passing, and we had been going but a few minutes when a man came from the jungle. We stopped briefly while he talked to Henry; then he faded into the jungle and was gone.
"They are but minutes away." He glanced at me, as I could dimly see. "There will be fighting, I think."
"How many are they?"
"Seven now, and a light was seen on Galleon Bay, a signal, we believe." He led the way sharply downhill. The earth was muddy under foot, and several times I slipped but each time caught myself before falling.
Suddenly the water was before us, a goodly stretch of it with the darkness of land beyond. Henry touched my arm. "We walk easily here, for there is a swamp along the shore."
My boots were ill fitted for such travel, and I longed for a pair of my moccasins, which suited me better. We emerged upon solid footing, a stretch along the shore, and we walked along the sand.
Suddenly a voice spoke, "Sheer off there! Belay it! We want no visitors here!"
"But you have them, my friend," I said quietly. "You have many visitors, and we wish the young lady. You may release her now, or we will have your blood first."
"Sheer off!" There was anger in the voice and maybe a shadowing of doubt or fear.
"Are you there, madame?"
"I am," she replied.
There was the sound of a blow, and I said, "Your life shall pay for that," and we closed in around them.
A man came at me, cutlass swinging, but I fenced as my father and Jeremy had taught me. I moved back, and sure he had me, he came in swiftly. He cut sharply at me and missed; my point did not. My blade touched the point where his neck met his chest.
He fell back, coughing, and my eyes, accustomed to the darkness now, saw a man turn on Adele, and I had a pistol from my waistband and a shot.
He fell.
There was a shout from the boat coming in. "Lashan?"
The maroons were armed with cutlasses, and but two or three had muskets. They turned and fired toward the incoming boat, and there was a curse, and then the boat began to back water swiftly. I thrust my empty pistol into my waistband and held my sword ready, but the fighting was over. On the sand were dark bodies, stretched and still. A maroon moved to stop one who was crawling away. "Let him go," I said. "If he lives, he can tell them how foolish they were."
Adele came to me across the sand. "You came in time. I knew you would."
"It is Henry who deserves the thanks," I said. "May we take you home now?"
At least three of her captors had fled, but we did not pursue. To find them in the darkness would be difficult, and my first task was to take Madame Legare to her home.
"It is arranged for," Henry said. "We borrowed a carriage from a plantation."
"Henry, no one must know of this. I hope you did not--"
He smiled. "I did not. They do not even know their carriage is being used, and before they do know, it will be back in its place, wiped clean as if never used."
Hours later, we drove into the winding, palm-lined lane to the plantation house.
As we came near the house, a man walked out on the wide verandah. I rode on in advance. "Master Legare?"
He was a man in his thirties, not unhandsome and with a kindly but worried face. "Yes?"
"Madame Legare was taken by pirates, slavers, or something of the sort. We have brought her home. She was not harmed."
"You are?"
"Kin Ring Sackett, of Virginia. The others," I added, "are maroons."
"Maroons?" He was startled. "But--!"
"They are our friends," I said, "and without them we could have done little."
The carriage drew up, and he ran down the steps to help her down. "You are all right?"
"All right." She smiled suddenly, her hand still resting in his. "And I am home."
"Will you come in?" He paused at the door, looking about. "Why! They are gone!"
Glancing back, I saw it was true. They had faded into the jungle and the planting as if they had never been. I had no need to ask where Henry might be. He knew, as I did, there was much to be done and that most of it must be done in Port Royal or in Santiago de la Vega.
The room into which I was shown was large and high of ceiling. Wide windows looked out over green lawns flaming with tropical flowers, whose names I knew not.
"You must rest, Captain," Legare said, "but first something to eat."
"There is little time--" I started to say, but he lifted a hand.
"Enough. We have much to talk of, you and I." He glanced at me. "You have known my wife long?"
Briefly I explained my meeting with her and why I had come to Jamaica. I added, "In the Cape Ann district Madame Legare was a friend to a girl whom I know. A girl I--"
I caught myself up short. What was I saying? I hardly knew the girl, and she knew even less of me. A servant came in bearing a tray with coffee, eggs, ham, and a melon, of which I knew nothing.
"Adele does not wish me disturbed," Legare said, "and she knows I am a quiet man who prefers a quiet life. I have books, I read much, I oversee my plantation myself, and I engage in a bit of trade. I also"--he took up a slice of toast and broke it in his fingers--"dabble in the governing of the island.
"Often," he said, "I find it best to do what must be done without going through the usual channels. Adele is not yet familiar with my methods of operation. She does know that I prefer our life here. It is quiet, pleasant. We have a few friends and a graceful, easy life."
He put down his glass. "I understand very well how you feel and agree that something must be done. I have thought so for some time. Now--suddenly--they have brought it home to me."
"I have heard," I suggested, "that Joseph Pittingel has many friends in high places, that he moves as he wishes."
"To a point ... only to a point. Unfortunately for him, he has never known how shallow are the roots of his power, nor has he ever been able to temper his greed. Continual success has led him to believe there can be no failure."
Legare smiled, refilling my glass with coffee. "As to that, Captain Sackett, I agree."
"I have been called 'Captain' but I have no claim to the title," I said. "I am captain of nothing."
He shrugged. "No matter. It is convenient. There are many such in the islands. It is a courtesy title as much as anything else, so grant those who use it their pleasure."
He changed the subject suddenly and began talking of trade between the islands and Carolina and the Plymouth colony. "I have been content to plant and reap, but lately I have been thinking of branching out, building a three-cornered trade between the islands, England, and Carolina. I have hesitated because it demands a trip to England to find an agent there."
A thought came to me, and I suggested, "I have a brother there who is a student of law at the Inns of Court. He is young, but he would be pleased to act for you."